1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mobile heart-lung machine for maintaining the blood circulation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For maintaining a person's circulation, anoxemic venous blood is removed from the person by means of a heart-lung machine with a cannula and fed to an oxygenator by a blood pump to avoid or eliminate a circulatory arrest or lack of perfusion during an operation as the result of an accident or some other organ failure. In the oxygenator, which performs the function of an artificial lung, the blood is enriched with oxygen and CO2 is removed. Subsequently, the oxygen-rich arterial blood is fed back to the patient's circulation through a cannula after cleaning it in an arterial filter. Heart-lung machines of this type are used for stationary applications in hospitals.
DE 43 43 334 A1 discloses a generic heart-lung machine for mobile use. It has a supporting structure, provided with carrying handles at the front and back, having a bridge-like structure and having standing feet protruding downward. For fixing all component parts of the heart-lung machine, corresponding fastening means are provided. However, in the case of this machine, the functionally important elements are arranged such that they are freely accessible and are consequently not protected against damage, which may impair serviceability during use. In addition, the machine must always be carried by two people.
A mobile heart-lung machine provided with a set of tubes is also disclosed by DE 197 02 098 A1. This machine comprises a loop for feeding blood to an artery, a second loop for removing blood from a vein, a venous reservoir, an oxygenator, a blood pump which is preferably designed as a roller pump, and an oxygen dispenser in the form of an oxygen concentrator connected to the pump on the drive side. Furthermore, the machine has a controller for the oxygen concentrator and the delivery rate of the pump and also connections for a decentralized energy supply and/or for an electrical energy store. Although this heart-lung machine is also intended in particular for mobile use, it cannot normally be handled by one person on account of its size and weight.
Owing to the confined space in an ambulance, it is virtually impossible to take this machine along on an emergency call-out in a ready-to-operate state. The haste required in emergency call-outs, in particular in the case of patients suffering from a failure of the cardiopulmonary function, makes the requirement of setting up the machine prior to use disadvantageous. In addition, after each time they are used, the aforementioned heart-lung machines have to be newly set up and cleaned in a complicated procedure before they are used again. As a result, immediate re-use is not possible.
DE 199 05 937 discloses a heart-lung machine, wherein the elements which circulate the blood on the one hand and the drive and automatic control elements on the other hand are arranged in two separate modules.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a heart-lung machine suitable for mobile use. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heart-lung machine that can be carried and handled by one person. A further object is that the heart-lung machine is constructed in such a way that the respective elements can easily be exchanged, and thus after use the heart-lung machine can easily and quickly be prepared for the next use.